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Frank Ciampini's ‘Speed Cave' devoted to racing sports

Frank Ciampini and his motorcycle racing memorabilia, seen Tuesday, July 10, 2012, at his home in Rainbow City, Ala. Ciampini once owned a motorcycle race team when he lived in Canada. He now has an extensive collection of 1:24 scale die-cast NASCAR stock cars and other racing memorabilia. (Gadsden Times, Marc Golden)

Published: Sunday, October 21, 2012 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, November 1, 2012 at 3:17 p.m.

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Ciampini's involvement with NASCAR is so much more than a hobby — it's a passion. And he has the collection to prove it.

He calls it the “Speed Cave.”

Ciampini's basement in his Rainbow City home is filled with more than 500 die-cast cars, posters, hats and other NASCAR memorabilia. His collection stretches from the beginning of NASCAR until the present, with everything neatly displayed and organized.

Everyone is welcome to enter the Speed Cave, but Ciampini has only one rule.

“They can look, but they can't touch,” Ciampini says, laughing.

But seriously, this is not a toy collection.

Each car, most at 1:24 scale, has a picture of the driver that goes with it. Some even are signed. And it's a who's who of NASCAR royalty, with displays of the Pettys, Allisons, Earnhardts, Waltrips, Labontes and Wallaces. There's Alan Kulwicki, Mark Martin, Cale Yarborough, Benny Parsons, Sterling Marlin, Bill Elliott, Dale Jarrett, Ricky Rudd and Neil Bonnett. Some of the lesser-known NASCAR driver cars are there, too, like Wally Dallenbach and Jimmy Spencer. If he races in NASCAR today, chances are Ciampini has one of his cars.

Oh, and you can't help noticing the Jeff Gordon collection. If Ciampini's blue couch with the No. 24 emblazoned on it isn't enough of a clue, the Jeff Gordon polo shirt he wears will give it away. Gordon, without a doubt, is Ciampini's favorite driver.

Yes, being in the Speed Cave on race day, watching it on the big screen TV from the Jeff Gordon couch is the next best thing to actually being at the track for Ciampini.

He took a long, improbable road to NASCAR fandom.

Born in Italy, Ciampini speaks with a unique, affable accent. He spent more than 40 years in Toronto before moving here seven years ago with the company he works for, NARMCO.

He's not exactly the stereotypical fan, as the NASCAR footprint doesn't exist in Italy and is much smaller in Canada than the U.S. His first love was motorcycle racing.

“That's where it all started for me, riding motorcycles through the streets of Toronto,” says Ciampini. “Four or five would get on their bikes and mark out a course and race the streets. Of course, it's all illegal and dangerous. Just try to avoid street cars and cops. (Eventually), I thought to myself, this is not good.”

Ciampini then started attending motorcycle races in Canada and the U.S. before deciding to sponsor a team.

“I did that for a couple of years, then I thought, you know what, it's best that I do it on my own because then I control the situation,” Ciampini says. “When you're a partial sponsor, your say goes only so far. Like having three cooks in the kitchen, all three think their version of it is right. So the only way you're going to do your version is doing it yourself.”

So he founded Team Ciampini and hired Steve Crevier as his rider. They traveled the world, racing in the U.S., Canada, British Grand Prix, Japan and Korea. Then, in 1989, they made history as the only team to win all three levels of championships — 750 Superbike, 600 Supersport and 250 GP — in the same year. Crevier went on to become a legendary Canadian racer, and Ciampini still relishes the experience.

“A lot of these professional teams, whether it be car or bike, they focus and concentrate on one series,” Ciampini says. “We were a low-budget team. I was sponsored by manufacturers and had friends in Toronto who had bike shops that let me house our team in their facility. I had a lot of support. We kind of managed to do all three for the experience, then we saw, ‘Hey, we're in there every week.”

One thing Ciampini and his family did every year was race at Bike Week in Daytona, Fla. That usually came about just before the NASCAR season was to open at the track, but they never had the opportunity to stick around for it until 1992.

Since 1992, Ciampini and his wife, Doris, have planned vacations around where the NASCAR race was going to be on any given week. There are not many tracks they haven't been to.

When asked if she enjoys racing as much as her husband, Doris says, “I do,” before being interrupted by Frank: “She's worse than me!”

And being such a NASCAR fan, Frank jumped at the chance to move to Alabama. He was in charge of getting the new NARMCO facility open on Airport Industrial Drive, and he thought he was going to be “in NASCAR heaven” living so close to Talladega Superspeedway.

“Boy, was I wrong,” he says. “When I came here, I soon found out football was religion.”

But that's OK. One thing that brings Frank a lot of enjoyment is when friends come over to check out his collection.

“I have friends that come over, and they'll stay here for an hour just going through everything,” Frank says. “A lot of the cars and pictures bring back memories for them, so I enjoy that.”

He was hesitant to put a value on his collection, figuring conservatively at about $10,000. While the value of his collection seems insignificant to him, he does take it seriously.

“For most people, it's hard to explain,” he says. “You (have) to understand: I'm a collector. I go out of my way to get something. These things, you're either into it or you're not. Most people think they're toys, but they're far from toys.” ∫

<p>Saying Frank Ciampini is into <a href="http://nascar.blogs.gadsdentimes.com"><b>NASCAR</b></a> is like saying Nietzsche was somewhat into philosophy.</p><p>Ciampini's involvement with NASCAR is so much more than a hobby — it's a passion. And he has the collection to prove it.</p><p>He calls it the “Speed Cave.”</p><p>Ciampini's basement in his Rainbow City home is filled with more than 500 die-cast cars, posters, hats and other NASCAR memorabilia. His collection stretches from the beginning of NASCAR until the present, with everything neatly displayed and organized.</p><p>Everyone is welcome to enter the Speed Cave, but Ciampini has only one rule.</p><p>“They can look, but they can't touch,” Ciampini says, laughing.</p><p>But seriously, this is not a toy collection.</p><p>Each car, most at 1:24 scale, has a picture of the driver that goes with it. Some even are signed. And it's a who's who of NASCAR royalty, with displays of the Pettys, Allisons, Earnhardts, Waltrips, Labontes and Wallaces. There's Alan Kulwicki, Mark Martin, Cale Yarborough, Benny Parsons, Sterling Marlin, Bill Elliott, Dale Jarrett, Ricky Rudd and Neil Bonnett. Some of the lesser-known NASCAR driver cars are there, too, like Wally Dallenbach and Jimmy Spencer. If he races in NASCAR today, chances are Ciampini has one of his cars.</p><p>Oh, and you can't help noticing the Jeff Gordon collection. If Ciampini's blue couch with the No. 24 emblazoned on it isn't enough of a clue, the Jeff Gordon polo shirt he wears will give it away. Gordon, without a doubt, is Ciampini's favorite driver.</p><p>Yes, being in the Speed Cave on race day, watching it on the big screen TV from the Jeff Gordon couch is the next best thing to actually being at the track for Ciampini.</p><p>He took a long, improbable road to NASCAR fandom.</p><p>Born in Italy, Ciampini speaks with a unique, affable accent. He spent more than 40 years in Toronto before moving here seven years ago with the company he works for, NARMCO.</p><p>He's not exactly the stereotypical fan, as the NASCAR footprint doesn't exist in Italy and is much smaller in Canada than the U.S. His first love was motorcycle racing.</p><p>“That's where it all started for me, riding motorcycles through the streets of Toronto,” says Ciampini. “Four or five would get on their bikes and mark out a course and race the streets. Of course, it's all illegal and dangerous. Just try to avoid street cars and cops. (Eventually), I thought to myself, this is not good.”</p><p>Ciampini then started attending motorcycle races in Canada and the U.S. before deciding to sponsor a team.</p><p>“I did that for a couple of years, then I thought, you know what, it's best that I do it on my own because then I control the situation,” Ciampini says. “When you're a partial sponsor, your say goes only so far. Like having three cooks in the kitchen, all three think their version of it is right. So the only way you're going to do your version is doing it yourself.”</p><p>So he founded Team Ciampini and hired Steve Crevier as his rider. They traveled the world, racing in the U.S., Canada, British Grand Prix, Japan and Korea. Then, in 1989, they made history as the only team to win all three levels of championships — 750 Superbike, 600 Supersport and 250 GP — in the same year. Crevier went on to become a legendary Canadian racer, and Ciampini still relishes the experience.</p><p>“A lot of these professional teams, whether it be car or bike, they focus and concentrate on one series,” Ciampini says. “We were a low-budget team. I was sponsored by manufacturers and had friends in Toronto who had bike shops that let me house our team in their facility. I had a lot of support. We kind of managed to do all three for the experience, then we saw, 'Hey, we're in there every week.”</p><p>One thing Ciampini and his family did every year was race at Bike Week in Daytona, Fla. That usually came about just before the NASCAR season was to open at the track, but they never had the opportunity to stick around for it until 1992.</p><p>After getting to experience NASCAR that year, Ciampini was hooked.</p><p>“We love Daytona, it's our favorite track,” Ciampini says. “We've probably attended 30 races there.”</p><p>Since 1992, Ciampini and his wife, Doris, have planned vacations around where the NASCAR race was going to be on any given week. There are not many tracks they haven't been to.</p><p>When asked if she enjoys racing as much as her husband, Doris says, “I do,” before being interrupted by Frank: “She's worse than me!”</p><p>And being such a NASCAR fan, Frank jumped at the chance to move to Alabama. He was in charge of getting the new NARMCO facility open on Airport Industrial Drive, and he thought he was going to be “in NASCAR heaven” living so close to Talladega Superspeedway.</p><p>“Boy, was I wrong,” he says. “When I came here, I soon found out football was religion.”</p><p>But that's OK. One thing that brings Frank a lot of enjoyment is when friends come over to check out his collection.</p><p>“I have friends that come over, and they'll stay here for an hour just going through everything,” Frank says. “A lot of the cars and pictures bring back memories for them, so I enjoy that.”</p><p>He was hesitant to put a value on his collection, figuring conservatively at about $10,000. While the value of his collection seems insignificant to him, he does take it seriously.</p><p>“For most people, it's hard to explain,” he says. “You (have) to understand: I'm a collector. I go out of my way to get something. These things, you're either into it or you're not. Most people think they're toys, but they're far from toys.” ∫</p>